In the metal processing industry such as, for example, in the construction of vehicle bodies, it is preferred to use component parts that have a low weight as well as a desired strength and a desired deformation characteristics. Press-hardened component parts that are produced of high-strength steels and have areas of different ductility are used, for example, in regions of the vehicle body that are subjected to in particular high stresses in case of a crash. Examples of such component parts are the A column and B column, the bumper and the door impact beams of a motor vehicle.
Component parts with regions of different ductility are produced, for example, by means of press-hardening. A starting material or a blank is heated prior to the press-hardening process and is subsequently formed in a press-hardening tool and quenched. For this purpose, the press-hardening tool may comprise devices for cooling or heating the blank.
In order to realize the desired ductility in certain areas of the component part, different structures (e.g. martensitic structures or ferrite) can be adjusted in said regions by means of different cooling times during the hardening of the component part. The more precisely the temperature of the component part can be controlled during the hardening process, the more accurately the desired structure can be adjusted. However, it is very difficult to specify the temperatures and the cooling times during the production because, for example, distances between the furnace and a further processing device will have to be traversed in which distances the component part cools down in a not controllable manner.